Chapter 1 The Lowdown on Pastel Basics...Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Pastel Basics 11 we help reduce your anxiety a bit and focus just on chalk pastels in this book. You can find three

Chapter 1

The Lowdown on Pastel BasicsIn This Chapter▶ Understanding the historic and modern popularity of pastels

▶ Diving into pastel materials and equipment

▶ Thinking about your workspace

▶ Making the most of your sketchbook

▶ Developing your own drawing philosophy

To make an artwork is to tap into the pursuit of creative expression that

everyone has inside. Many people gain a true appreciation for the arts by

making art. For some, the creative outlet is music or writing, but for others

the drive to create a visual artwork is the outlet of choice. Many people’s

first experiences making pictures involved a crayon. The colors offered

many ways to express the world around them. Sky and trees, mom and dad,

brother and sister — each one was a different color.

And here you are as an adult now, feeling the same creative urge. Making

pictures is a wonderful thing to pick up again; wax crayons are fine and can

offer some satisfaction for color, but they don’t offer a lot of possibilities for

application. On the other hand, nothing beats pastels for ease of use and glo-

rious color. You may have already had some experience with pastels because

they’re a popular art material for children and adults, but whether you’ve

been working with pastels for a while or are just starting out, pastels are just

plain fun. You can take classes that concentrate on pastel techniques, or just

pick the sticks up and figure it out on your own with the help of our book.

Working with pastels is quite intuitive. A piece of pastel is just a powdery,

sophisticated crayon, after all. Like any material, they can be a little tricky

to work with, however, and the different brands of pastels and pastel-related

materials vary tremendously. That’s why we wrote this book: to give you

a firm grounding in the many ways you can use pastels as an art material

and offer some insider information about the various approaches to making

images with pastels. In this chapter, we give you an overview of the book,

walk you through the process of drawing with pastels, and point you to the

right chapters for more details.

COPYRIG

HTED M

ATERIAL

8 Part I: Getting Started

You and Toulouse: Why Artists Love Pastels

Pastels are a favorite of artists because they offer the rich color of oil paint-

ing but the ease of use of a drawing material. These qualities have made

pastels popular through the centuries, with such diverse artists as Rosalba

Carriera, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and R.B. Kitaj. As a matter of fact,

whether the artworks produced with pastel are considered drawings or

paintings is up for debate. For now, we can say that the results are beauti-

ful, whatever you may call them, and they’re an important part of an artist’s

materials and tools.

Pastels have actually been in use for many centuries. Making art with some

sort of chalk dates back at least to the early Renaissance, where you can

easily find drawings made by Leonardo da Vinci and his contemporaries in

red, black, and white chalk. Over the centuries, the manufacturers of pastels

have increased the number of colors available, and mass-production has

standardized their quality to the great benefit of today’s artist.

Now drawing with pastels is easier than ever. If you’re new to the world of

pastels, you may not realize what they have to offer you, so the following

sections highlight some reasons why pastels are a popular medium, which is

another word for art material. You may fall in love with pastels for the same

reasons, or some of your own. We cover the various ways of working with

pastels in Chapters 6, 9, and 10.

Pastels do have a few drawbacks. The sticks are fragile and break easily with

too much pressure or if you drop them. The surface of the drawing is also frag-

ile and can be easily smudged. Sometimes a novice is tempted to over-blend

the applied pastel, which can muddy and dull the colors. Plus, the pastels can

produce a lot of dust as you work. These characteristics can be frustrating for

a beginner, but they’re easy to deal with. We cover handling these and other

problems in Chapter 6.

A love affair with colorColor is the foremost reason to use pastels. Pastels grab you when you first

open your box and see all the luscious colors at a glance — and that doesn’t

even account for the variety of colors of paper you can choose from. The

color of the paper becomes a part of the final effect of your artwork, deepen-

ing the range of colors possible. And because the pastels go on dry, the spar-

kling color stays true. Each applied color visually enhances the other colors

to create a complex mosaic of color. We devote Chapter 11 to color theory.

If you need further proof of pastel’s color prowess, consider its popularity

with the Impressionists, who were known for creating artwork made up of

color and light. Their interest in fresh, spontaneous marks and the juxtaposi-

tion of saturated color made pastel an ideal art medium for Edouard Manet,

Edgar Degas, and Mary Cassatt, among others.

9 Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Pastel Basics

The variety of stick pastelsPastels are a part of a larger group of art materials that come in a stick. They

all have different qualities and uses. Here we offer an overview to help you

understand a bit of the history and variety of colored drawing materials that

are applied in a stick form.

Depending on your preference and style, you can use a wide variety of

pigment in a stick to create a masterpiece. Some of the varieties you may

encounter when drawing with color include the following:

✓ Chalk pastels: We focus on this type of pastels in this book; in fact,

when we refer to pastels, we mean these powdery wonders. Calling them

chalk pastels also helps differentiate them from other types of materi-

als, such as oil pastels, wax crayons, and colored pencils. Of course,

many artists never refer to pastels as chalk, but the similarities between

pastels and colored chalk can’t be ignored. Both are dry drawing materi-

als with powdery colored pigments. The difference is in the degree of

intense saturated color and their intended use. Pastels intended for fine

art are made of pigment and binder, usually gum tragacanth. They may

also include some filler materials to modify the degree of hardness or

to make the pastel more workable. Chalk is meant for blackboards and

sidewalk drawings; we don’t recommend using a set of Rembrandt brand

pastels to make a hopscotch grid.

✓ Conté crayons: These old drawing materials have a more velvety tex-

ture than chalk pastels because they contain a clay binder. Years ago,

conté crayons only came in traditional colors of white, reddish brown,

brown, and black, but now they’re available in many more colors, some

of which are similar to chalk pastels.

✓ Wax crayons and oil pastels: Unlike chalk pastels, neither of these

materials would ever be mistaken for a dry drawing material. These both

have a lot in common; the difference is the degree of softness of the

crayon. Where a child’s wax crayon feels, well, waxy, an oil pastel has a

greasy feel. You can blend and layer these materials like you can chalk

pastels, but the appearance isn’t as soft.

✓ Other, newer items: You may find other new items on the market: oil

sticks that feel more like paint than a crayon and pastels in a pan that

you apply with a sponge. Experiment to see what varieties speak to you.

Check out Chapter 2, where we discuss the different types of chalk pastels

available in more detail.

The ease and intuitiveness of making artAnother great reason to use pastels is that they’re super easy. You don’t

have to spend a lot of time preparing like you do with oil or acrylic painting.

You just pick up and begin drawing! Although the working methods are simi-

lar to painting, other factors make pastels easier to use and different from

traditional painting:

✓ They allow you, the artist, to quickly get down ideas and make initial

sketches for work in other media.


✓ They’re more portable than paints — no palette or brushes to carry

along — and they travel very well when you properly store them in a

secure case.

✓ They lend themselves to a variety of application methods. As with other

drawing materials, you hold pastels in your fingers instead of applying from

the end of a brush. This flexibility lets you apply pastel in a bunch of differ-

ent ways — from the point of a pencil to the delicate powder of soft pastels.

✓ They allow you to do things that paint doesn’t, such as work spontane-

ously without waiting for the work to dry and experiment with color

easily by mixing right on the paper rather than on a palette.

Check out Chapters 8 and 9 for more on what you can do with your pastels.

Part of the joy of working with pastels is that you can do it very intuitively.

Drawing with pastels isn’t overly complex. In fact, essentially you really have

only a few steps to create a drawing. Here are the basic steps to apply pastels

to create an artwork. We cover these steps in detail later in the book.

1. Lay out the general sketch of your image.

2. Apply the pastel colors to block in the value patterns in the scene.

The value patterns are the areas of light and dark colors. This process

creates the underdrawing, which establishes the color and where the

light source is coming from in your scene.

3. After you complete the underdrawing, you can apply a light spray of

workable fixative (see Chapter 3 for more on fixative) to set the image.

Fixative also helps you beef up the tooth (texture) so you can put down

additional layers of color.

4. Alternate the pattern of applying pastel and sealing it with workable

fixative until you complete the image.

We cover the ins and outs of layering color, applying fixative, and work-

ing with different papers in Chapters 7 and 8.

Perusing Pastels and ParaphernaliaPastels are easy to work with, but they do require some special equipment

and supplies to make the most of their features. They’re similar to painting

in their color, but they go on dry and powdery like charcoal. You have to pay

attention to the different hardness of the pastels and the type of paper you

apply them to. You also have to take care of the artworks after you’re done,

which involves some specialized materials and equipment. We cover a lot of

these particular materials and equipment in Chapter 3, but the following sec-

tions give you a preview.

PastelsWhen you walk into an art supply store, you may be intimidated by all the

different types of pastels available. Like we mention earlier in this chapter,


we help reduce your anxiety a bit and focus just on chalk pastels in this book.

You can find three general types of chalk pastels:

✓ Hard pastels or semi-hard pastels: They usually come in square sticks.

They’re used in the initial stages of a drawing to lay down basic shapes

and colors.

✓ Soft pastels: They’re fragile and delicate. They put down a lot of color

quickly and are used later in a project.

✓ Pastel pencils: They’re hard or semi-hard pastel in a pencil. They can be

sharpened to a point and are used for the initial drawing of an image and

for final linear marks.

Pastel sets range from simple collections to big sets in fancy boxes. Pastels

come in preselected sets of 12, 24, 30, or up to hundreds. You can also buy

the pastels individually, but that’s way too many decisions if you’re new to

the material. Your best choice for a beginning selection is a set that offers

a broad assortment of colors. We advise you to buy a set of 24 hard pastels

(Prismacolor’s Nupastel line is perfect for this), a set of 30 to 60 half sticks

of soft pastels, such as Rembrandt brand, and a set of 12 pastel pencils

(CarbOthello is a good brand). We cover this topic in more detail in Chapter 2.

Papers and boardsThe paper or pastel board that you use for your work is also a big deal. The

names of the various papers may sound like a lot of insider lingo, but we give

you the information to make good choices.

Pastels require papers that have a rough surface. If your paper is too slick,

the pastels are going to just fall off as dust. For the pastels to properly adhere

to the paper, it must have a rough texture or tooth. Sometimes the roughness

feels like the texture of a soft paper towel, and other times it feels more like

sandpaper (see Figure 1-1 for an example).

Figure 1-1: A drawing

on sand-paper.


Paper choice is a key decision in making a drawing. As you draw a pastel

stick across the surface of a sheet of paper, pigment becomes imbedded in

the fibers. Depending on the types of paper you’re working on, the pastels

reveal the texture of the surface, whether that’s a waffle pattern, a soft film

of powder, or a rough and gritty buildup of color. For starting out, you can’t

go wrong with buying charcoal paper. The texture holds onto the pastel par-

ticles and the papers are offered in a variety of colors.

You can work on white paper, but a deep paper color adds to the overall

effect of your finished piece. Little bits of paper color show through the

pastel and contribute to the overall color of the work. You can select a color

that harmonizes with the subject, such as blue for a scene with water, or you

can select a contrasting color, such as red for a green landscape. Check out

Figure 1-2, which uses a different paper color.

Figure 1-2: A drawing

on blue pastel paper.

Pastel boards are rigid pieces of cardboard, foam core, or hardboard with

a surface suitable for pastels. Sometimes the surface is pastel paper that

is adhered to the board and sometimes the board has had a gritty surface

applied to it, making it ideal for pastel artworks. Pastel boards provide a

more stable surface for your artworks and aren’t as likely to be damaged as

paper. You can read more about picking papers and boards for pastels in

Chapter 7.

Basic equipmentAside from your pastels and paper, you need a bit of other equipment. You

can get by with minimal supplies, but at some point, you may want to invest in

a few extras to make the process easier, keep your materials undamaged, and

explore additional options for application. Pastel artists have drawing boards

to support the paper; artists’ tape or clips to secure the paper; and sprays to

set the drawing. All these items allow you to work on a steady surface, build


up charming layers of colors, and keep your equipment clean and undamaged.

Many artists also use tools for blending such as soft sponges, blending stumps

(also called tortillons), cotton swabs or paper towels twisted into points. You

can’t help but use your fingers from time to time, though.

Keeping your pastels organized is an important consideration as well. If

you have a large number of pastels, storing them in a box keeps the sticks

cleaner, unbroken, and more organized. A piece of terry cloth allows you

to lay out your sticks and keep them from moving around. We cover all the

details about supplies in Chapter 3.

What you need to get started: Your basic listPastels vary quite a bit in hardness and texture from one brand to another.

We advise that you start with a few sets of different hardnesses and then

decide which suits your individual working style. Three different sets cover

most of your needs as you begin: hard or semi-hard pastels, soft pastels, and

pastel pencils, in a general assortment of colors. You can complete most of

the projects and exercises in this book with the following supplies:

✓ Set of 60 half sticks of Rembrandt brand soft pastels in assorted colors

✓ Set of 24 Prismacolor Nupastel hard pastels in assorted colors

✓ Set of 12 CarbOthello pastel pencils in assorted colors

✓ Workable spray fixative (which we discuss in Chapter 3)

✓ 23-x-26-inch or similar-sized drawing board

✓ Pastel or charcoal paper

✓ A sketchbook with at least 30 pages (50- to 100-pound paper — see

Chapter 7 for more on paper weight)

In the beginning, assorted color sets are more useful than the specialized

sets you can get for landscape or portrait work. Later, you can purchase indi-

vidual sticks of colors as you need them or special sets for different subjects.

For example, you may find that you always run out of yellow or that you need

several different types of violet. These preferences reflect your own working

style, and you want to be able to respond to it easily without running out to

the store again. You can find more information about pastels in Chapter 2.

Where to Work: A Room (or Table) of Your Own

When you’re ready to start drawing with your pastels, you need a designated

space where you can spread out your supplies and start sketching. Having a

room devoted to your art making is ideal, but don’t let not having a dedicated

studio space stand in your way. Working with pastels doesn’t require a lot

of space — all you need is a work surface for the drawing, a place to lay out

your pastels, and a table and light for your setup.


If you don’t have a dedicated studio space, you can create a work surface in

a shared space, such as an office or kitchen. Pastels are very portable, and

the equipment is easy to stow away when you aren’t working with it. Plus,

cleanup is a snap. A table or desk works fine for a temporary space to work.

Working in shared spaces with pastel presents few problems. Pastel is a dry

medium, and pastels have no smell. They may attract small hands if you have

children, so find a secure place to store your work and materials if you’re

working in an area with curious young fans.

Pastels work very well on the road as well. Your supplies and equipment are

portable and you can take your equipment where you want to work. Plein air work — making art out in the open air — requires a bit of planning, much like

camping. You need to be able to work comfortably and to see your subject

clearly. In Chapter 16, you can read about how to plan and create pastel land-

scapes on-site.

Although pastels are safe materials to use and don’t require any volatile chem-

icals for cleanup (unless you consider soap and water volatile), you still need

to consider two safety issues when setting up your workspace:

✓ Pastel dust: Pastels create a lot of dust, and breathing in the dust and

pigments isn’t healthy for anyone. For those with breathing problems,

allergies, or asthma, the dust can be irritating. Resisting the temptation

to shake or blow on the drawing to remove excess pastel is the best way

to avoid getting dust in the air.

✓ Ventilation for using spray fixative: Spray fixative is a sealer that allows

you to add more tooth to layers of pastels for continued work or to

apply a final finish spray to fix the pastel artwork and make it less prone

to smudging. Using fixative is an optional step, but be sure to use it

with proper ventilation. Spraying fixative in an open garage or porch or

outside in decent weather works fine. You can read more about safety

issues in Chapter 6.

Starting a SketchbookKeeping a sketchbook is a time-honored activity most artists participate in.

As a beginner, you can use your sketchbook in two ways:

✓ Skill building: You practice drawing objects and people in quick

sketches so that you don’t struggle with them when you make your

pastel drawings. Spending as little as 15 minutes a day drawing objects

in your sketchbook from observation (based only on what you see, not

on what you think the object should look like) can make a huge differ-

ence in your skill level.

✓ Idea generating: Sketchbooks are also receptacles for ideas, which is

what seasoned artists use them for. You can sketch and write about

your ideas, but you can also cut and paste articles and pictures into it.

After you have used your sketchbook for a while, it becomes a rich jour-

nal, reflecting and recording your thoughts and attitudes about your life

and view of the world.


Your sketchbook can be spiral bound or hardback, but choose one with

good-quality paper that works well with your regular graphite pencil as well

as with pastels. Everyone has his or her own preferences for size and shape.

Some artists prefer small sketchbooks that fit in their back pocket or purse,

and others carry around larger versions. After a bit of experimentation, you

develop your own preferences based on your own life and work methods.

Your sketchbook is a volume of blank pages just waiting for you to fill them

up. Throughout this book, you can find exercises to help you do just that.

They provide directed practice that supports the longer projects and helps

you build your skills. The following are a couple of sketchbook exercises to

get you started and acquainted with your new friend.

Start your sketchbook with drawings of simple objects from around the

house. These drawings are quick, no more than 20 to 30 minutes each. Use

regular pencil (or pastel pencils if you have them already) and draw each of

the following objects on a separate page: a ball, a book, and a cup. Be sure

to work from the actual objects and not from what they look like in your

mind. (See the following section for more on working from observation.)

Refer to Figure 1-3.

Figure 1-3: A sketch-

book allows you to

practice drawings.

A sketchbook is for notes as well as drawings. Make two columns on a page in

your sketchbook. In one, write what you think your strengths are as you begin

making pastel drawings. In the other, write what you think you may struggle

with.

Finally, include a specific goal for your work in pastels. That may just be to

find a pastime that you enjoy, or it may be something loftier like exhibiting

your work in a local gallery. Making a note of this goal helps you plan your

journey as you work.


Embracing a Drawing PhilosophyMany artists started drawing by copying cartoons as children. They drew

images from their imaginations and later, when they wanted to make their

work look more “real,” they graduated to working from photographs.

Interestingly, few ever did what they really needed to do, which was draw

from the real objects.

Drawing from observation is a critical philosophy for developing skills in

drawing because it increases the kind and quality of images you can make. If

you don’t push yourself to widen your boundaries, you stagnate.

When you draw from observation, you translate the three-dimensional image

you see into a two-dimensional image on your paper. You look at the image,

determine how to turn it into two-dimensions, and then rely on hand–eye

coordination to draw the image the way you want. When you draw from

photographs, however, you look at a two-dimensional image and then draw

a two-dimensional image on paper. The translation has already been done

for you. That may sound easier, but you don’t get the experience of critically

thinking about how to recreate the dimensions, so in the long run, you’re

making your drawing harder. The camera is also very selective and incom-

plete in the information it records. Your eyes are much more reliable and

complete as a tool, so committing to using them as part of your training is an

important prong in your philosophy for drawing.

Another important point in your drawing philosophy is making a habit of

working from general to specific. When you work general to specific, you find

the big, general shapes and go through a process of breaking the shapes

down to the more specific forms. It also leaves you the flexibility to adjust

your methods as problems arise in the early stages. (Check out Chapter 6 for

more info.)

You can apply this process in many ways in your typical pastel drawing.

You begin your initial drawing with big, general forms and then go through

a process of refining and defining them. You block in your colors generally

and then go through a process of refining and developing them. Every part

and stage of the drawing goes through this process. Working on small areas

at the expense of the rest of the drawing makes those areas too precious and

limits your ability to make decisions about your work. Though you should be

willing to sacrifice any part of the drawing for the good of the whole, the deci-

sions you make while working the layering process helps keep those tough

choices to a minimum.

Documents

Chapter 1 The Lowdown on Pastel Basics...Chapter 1: The Lowdown on Pastel Basics 11 we help reduce your anxiety a bit and focus just on chalk pastels in this book. You can find three